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BOLTONSD70NWCHURCHGATE797-1/4/71(East side)

BOLTON
SD70NW CHURCHGATE
797-1/4/71 (East side)
26/04/74 Parish Church of St Peter
GV II*
Parish church. 1867-71, replacing an earlier church. EG Paley,
architect. Ashlar faced, with slate roofs (originally
Westmorland slate). Early C14 style.
PLAN: west tower, projecting from the north of the church in
order to align with Deansgate; nave with clerestory, 2 aisles,
transepts and chancel with flanking chapels.
EXTERIOR: 4 stage tower, with west door in moulded arch with
polished granite shafts; ornate hammered ironwork door
furniture (part of the original design by Austin). 2-light
Decorated windows in upper stages, with blind arcading above,
and paired bell chamber lights with ball flower moulding to
arch, and engaged shafts. Clasping buttresses terminate in
crocketted finials. 5-bay lean-to aisles divided by gabletted
buttresses, with 3-light Decorated traceried windows. Gabled
south porch with fleurons in the moulding of the arch and
traceried pinnacles each side.
Clerestory with paired foiled windows in shallow panels with
ball flower decoration; gargoyles. 5-light Decorated window in
south transept, with small arched doorway below. 7-light
window to north transept.
Lady chapel to east of chancel has two 2-light windows to
south and 3-light east window; Vestries to north. 7-light east
window to chancel, and clerestory in which foiled lancet
windows alternate with blind traceried panels divided by
banded shafts. Fleurons to cornice. Traceried pinnacles at
east end of chancel, and to west of nave.
INTERIOR: nave arcade of 6 bays with clustered shafts with
ring capitals carrying complex arches. Recessed paired
clerestory lights divided by banded shafts. Clustered wall
shafts sprung from corbels carry timber posts of wagon vaulted
boarded roof. Lean-to aisle roofs also have small wall posts
to principal trusses. Complex moulded chancel arch sprung from
tapered corbels. Low stone chancel screen. Rib-vaulted ceiling
of chancel decorated by Clayton and Bell, with painted angels
etc.
Chancel has 3-bay arcade each side, with heavy foliate
capitals to clustered shafts and corbels to vaulting.
Wrought-iron screens in the arcade. Trefoiled triforium arcade
above. Reredos probably part of the original scheme for the
church: rich traceried painted and gilded panelwork, with flat
central triptych with canopy, depicting the Last Supper and
scenes from the life of Peter, flanked by panels inscribed
with prayers etc.
FITTINGS: nave seating, the canopied civic stalls against the
west end, and the choir stalls all appear to be original.
Encaustic tiled floor (by Minton) survives in chancel and at
west end of nave. Pulpit wraps round northern crossing pier,
octagonal, with wood panels carved with sunflowers, lilies
etc., on stone base with wrought-iron rail to stairs.
MONUMENTS: various wall memorial tablets throughout the
church, including (in the tower porch) a memorial to John
Taylor, d.1821, by Chantrey. Two war memorials commemorating
the African War and WWI wall mounted marble tablets in north
and south aisles.
STAINED GLASS: windows in east wall of north chancel aisle (to
rear of organ) and in east of south chancel aisle (lady
chapel) were removed from the earlier church, and are mid C19.
East and west windows (depicting scenes from the life of St
Peter, and scenes from the Old Testament respectively) are by
Hardman, as is the south window in the south transept.
Other windows also apparently removed from the earlier church
(and all themselves mid C19) include the north-west window
(dated 1842). Chancel clerestory windows have stained glass
figures of Sts (c1880), and both aisles have late C19 and
early C20 glass. Organ rebuilt 1882 (originally installed in
the earlier church in 1795), in a case designed by AG Hill,
and painted with angels and stylised flowers.
(Scholes JC: History of Bolton: Bolton: 1892-).